“All right, you’re all set. You’ve officially joined the racing league. Take this and get to the starting line quickly. The race starts in 5 minutes.”

Damien took the mind chip from the organizer, eager to get started.

“Guess I should’ve explained the details before,” Bruce said as they walked past a group of rowdy punks toward the starting line, the buzzing atmosphere getting even more lively. “That chip there will give ye the route ye gotta take. Layout’s pretty strict but ye can deviate a little so long as ye hit all the checkpoints. But skipping them’s a no-no. Hit a checkpoint without hitting the previous one and you’ll be disqualified.”

“Got it. Seems simple enough.” Damien placed the mind chip into his neural slot, causing a portion of the minimap in the corner of his vision to light up. He mentally centered the map around the yellow highlighted portion that detailed the route of the race. The track looked like an oval drawn by a small child, a good mix of long straight patches as well as sharp bends and turns making up the path that eventually converged back to the starting point. The entirety of the race would take place on the east of the city.

The sea of spectators had largely concentrated around the starting point, but they made space for Damien as he rolled his bike to his starting position. Excited cheers and whistles flashed all around, but he was wholly focused on the task at hand. He had a certain asshole to beat in this race.

“Last call to place bets!” A booming voice called out from within the crowd.

“Look here. Traffic lights have been hacked to keep the route clear of civilian traffic. Don’t over think it, and ye’ll do fine,” Bruce said before giving Damien a pat on the shoulder and disappearing into the crowd, quicker than expected.

I gotta do more than fine. I gotta whoop this Clutch guy.

The girl positioned beside him at the starting line gave a whistle of admiration when she saw his motorcycle. Her bike—a much older, purple model—lacked in comparison. “Just my luck to go up against a Tiger MK-1,” she said, pausing to blow and pop a bubble of gum. “Then again, you must be new. Haven’t seen your face around here. Quick word of advice, get to the front as soon as possible and gain some distance. You don’t wanna be near these animals when you hit those sharp turns. Trust me on that, newbie.”

Damien gave a polite nod as thanks and mounted his bike. There were 12 racers taking part. Clutch was the highest rated within C-division, meaning that he got to spearhead the race and take the forefront starting position. As an unranked newcomer, Damien started at the very back. That didn’t bother him too much, but he silently bemoaned the fact that he was unfamiliar with the streets that comprised the track. Still, as long his minimap told him which way to go, he could make up for his lack of experience.

A new message from the mind chip popped up before Damien’s eyes, each line appearing one at a time.

C-Division Bike Race Commencing…

Open City Circuit (1 Lap)

First Place: +100 points

Second Place: +75 points

…

Damien took one final look at the route, noting that the first section was entirely straight. It didn’t last very long, but he could charge ahead during that stretch and get an early lead, giving him some wiggle room for any mistakes he’d make.

Preparation Complete.

Racers get ready!

Start in 3… 2… 1… Go!

The message box disappeared and a symphony of engine roars brought the race to life. Damien got a perfect start, his reflexes timing his throttle better than anyone else on the road. The racers in front of him fanned out to make use of the wide pathway, and he steadied himself momentarily before getting ready to bolt ahead.

He pushed the mechanical animal underneath him more and more, and before he knew it, the wind was whizzing past him as he started overtaking the other racers. His bike was probably the best one there, but the rate at which he advanced was surprising. He barely had to swerve as he quickly overtook the competition—Clutch included—and reached the front of the pack. It was too easy, and his excitement swelled up in anticipation of a swift victory.

That thrill soon fell as he realized that his eagerness had gotten the better of him. The first big corner(and checkpoint) was just ahead, and he was going far too fast to turn into it safely. He braked hard, trying to tame the overzealous Tiger.

Too much. Too much.

The wide bend threw him out of focus and he opted to over-correct and take the cautious choice of braking even more. He took a glance at the mind chip which updated everyone’s position in real time.

The other racers had paced themselves more appropriately, and Clutch was the first to overtake him in one smooth turn, riding into the bend instead of fighting against it. A purple bike overtook him next, and the girl from the before flashed a devilish smile as she rounded him. Had she purposely said those words to trick a newbie into making this mistake?

Damien let his frustration wash away and composed himself. Seven other racers passed him by the time he hit the first checkpoint, but he quickly recovered and found his groove. He started pacing himself better and taking his turns sweetly. Having a clear speed advantage, he covered the distance between himself and the leaders during the straight stretches while taking measures to not repeat his first mistake. Before he knew it, he was in fifth place as the first oddity of the race track revealed itself.

Up ahead, the empty paved roads of the industrial sector they’d been driving on melted into a massive dirt pit where countless flatbed trucks had been parked. Damien slowed down as he transitioned from the fluidity of the smooth roads onto the wilderness of the dirt pit, where he now had to zig and zag around the flatbeds. They were like a herd of wild animals with no rhyme or reason as to how they’d been parked.

The racers had no choice but to swerve in every direction as they frenzied around the obstacles to hit the checkpoint at the center. Thanks to his high spatial awareness, Damien maneuvered cleanly around the flatbeds, touched the checkpoint, and breezed to the end of the dirt pit and back on to the regular city streets. He’d made great time and past a number of other racers, noting that he was now in second place. Best of all, the minimap showed Clutch’s position not too far in front.

It didn’t take long to start closing that distance even further. At this point, Damien’s confidence was sky high as he rode the twists and turns of the barren streets, hitting every check point in the process and creeping up to Clutch, to the point that they were within one bike’s length of one another.

They both surged forward, far ahead of the pack, and a wide bend appeared up ahead. As Damien maneuvered to take the lead, Clutch’s bike swooped in dangerously close to his, and he quickly backed off to avoid a collision. When he tried to push for the advantage for a second time, Clutch yet again drew his bike inches close to his, forcing Damien to back off and lose some distance in the process.

That isn’t just a dirty tactic. This guy’s nuts.

Another checkpoint marked the completion of the bend and they were now riding into narrow streets. The race was more than half way over and Damien still lurked in second place. He spotted a slim opening ahead where he could take the lead and he steeled himself in preparation. If he could build up enough acceleration, he might catch Clutch off guard.

He pushed the Tiger harshly and swooped in to take the lead. Just as he thought he’d pulled it off, Clutch jerked towards him aggressively, almost knocking the bikes into each other and causing a nasty wreck. Damien hit the brakes hard and swerved to avoid Clutch while keeping control of the Tiger. His tires screeched as he fought to narrowly dodge a sign post just outside of a small building. As a result of the desperate move, he’d forced his bike to come to a full stop.

This motherfucker…

Clutch’s mark on the minimap continued with no hesitation toward the finish line. This wasn’t good, there wasn’t much time left. The others weren’t likely to catch up, but they weren’t relevant. The only thing that mattered was beating Clutch.

Damien studied the route closely and saw that the next checkpoint was quite a distance away. He could take some liberties about how he got there, and he quickly formed a plan. By taking a side path into a secondary straight road just outside of the designated route, he might be able to make up for lost time. This second path would be a greater distance than the highlighted route but he could make up time by tearing through the straight portion. It would be risky, but he quickly decided to follow through with his improvised plan. He couldn’t let Clutch win, especially not after what he’d just done. Besides, he’d just remembered that he had a secret weapon in his arsenal.

With a renewed flame burning within, he set off into a nearby side alley. Although there wasn’t any activity here to stop him, he still had to keep his speed measured due to the tight spaces. The other racers were closing the distance and Clutch continued to forge ahead, but Damien ignored all that. He’d already chosen his gamble. All he could do was try to execute it as best he could.

After more tight twists and turns in the alley, he popped out on to the straight portion where there was thankfully no traffic. His gamble hadn’t completely failed yet, but in the back of his mind he wished he’d remembered to test out this secret weapon earlier.

No time like the present.

Taking a deep breath and steadying the Tiger, Damien hit the NOS button for the first time, and he felt the force of a jet taking off beneath him. He strained to keep it together as his bike erupted forward with monstrous acceleration. Luckily, the path before him felt like a long runway, and he made full use of it to rapidly shrink Clutch’s advantage.

His face felt like it could melt off, but he continued his incredible advance for as long as possible. Only when he approached a bend that would take him back on the designated route did he finally deactivate the NOS, bringing the Tiger to a more manageable speed and allowing him to maneuver safely. This was his best turn yet, and he smiled as he came out the other end and on to the final stretch of the race, the figure of Clutch visible on the straight path ahead.